George Allen Announces Senate Run

George Allen (AP-File)

Former Senator George Allen (R) officially announced his candidacy to recapture the Senate seat he lost in 2006. Allen made his announcement Monday morning in an e-mail to supporters that directed them to a video.

"Today I'm announcing my candidacy for the U.S. Senate," said Allen. "You know me as someone willing to fight for the people of Virginia, and I'd like the responsibility to fight for you again."The race for the Republican nomination in Virginia will be competitive and if Allen wins he faces a possible rematch with Sen. James Webb (D) in what would be one of the closest-watched races in the country during 2012.

Webb, who beat Allen by .39%, or just over 7000 votes, in 2006 has not made an announcement about whether he will run for re-election. If Webb decides not to run many Democrats are looking to DNC Chairman and former Virginia Governor Tim Kaine.

In 2006 George Allen was considered a rising star in the GOP, an incumbent Senator and former Governor of Virginia who some looked at as a potential presidential candidate. The race was blown wide open and Allen's campaign thrust into turmoil when he called a Webb volunteer of Indian descent "macaca."

Allen said the term meant nothing but it turned out that the word is an ethnic slur used by white colonists in North Africa, the birthplace of Allen's mother. The exchange was captured on video and went viral, turning into one of the most famous episodes of the entire 2006 national election cycle.